


Step One

by emmypenny (burritosong)



Category: Batman (Comics), DCU - Comicverse
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-11-13
Updated: 2011-11-13
Packaged: 2017-10-26 00:30:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/276574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/burritosong/pseuds/emmypenny
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Practice makes perfect, and birds learn to fly by falling out of their parent's nest. Blue birds, robins...and now, Stephanie Brown. First the fall, and then the flight.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Step One

**Author's Note:**

> Just a quick piece I wrote about Stephanie Brown in her early days, when she was still Spoiler, while at work. Title is from Superchick's "One More": _I might get used to giving up / So I am showing up tonight / I am my own enemy / The battle fought within my mind / If I can overcome step one / I can face the 99_

Stephanie hits the pavement and only grunts a little. It certainly was an improvement on her first fall, when she had screamed and spent several minutes lying on the ground wishing she could escape her aching body. Leaping from rooftop to rooftop was apparently not as easy as Batman and Robin made it look on a nightly basis. It would have been nice to have received that memo in advance.

She pushes herself up before looking around at the still empty alley. She doesn’t know whether to be grateful that she has found the only completely empty corner of Gotham, or concerned about why exactly it was that no one was nearby. Still, regardless of whether it was an unsafe radiation leak or the failed containment of a killer virus, she’s grateful that it at least means there isn’t anyone around to see her fall on her ass.

Again.

She heads for the fire escape, her body hissing and biting with rebellion at the idea of what will probably be another failed leap. Her steps on the cool metal clang and echo. The sound is a hard punishment on her ears, and the shake and rattle of the old metal stirs less rock and roll in her and more dread.

At least she can rule out a radiation leak. She’s still completely human as far as she could tell. It really i too bad that she isn’t at least part Kryptonian. It would make all of this--the training, the falling, the pain--so much easier.

Police sirens break the litany of her boots on metal and she turns her head toward the sound, catching sight of Gotham’s most famous light show.

Batman and Robin, off to save the night then. Fighting wrongs and righting evil and maybe throwing in a few "chums" and "pals" while they prance about in their tights.

Steph is going to be so much cooler when she’s a hero. And she isn’t going to have to wear underoos or pixy boots, either.

She rolls her shoulders, grimacing at the bruises and strains as they are exacerbated by the movement. Oh yeah, it was worth it. She doesn’t need to leap tall buildings in a single bound--just the narrow gap between two.

Her feet pound down on the roof with each step, a thumping drum beat breaking the shrill scream of the sirens. And then, she flies.


End file.
